Is Bharata the Bronchiolar Zone?

The "sea" or the "waters" in the Puranas may be thought to start from the level of the respiratory bronchioles, which is encountered after 15 levels of branching of the airways in the human lung.

 Is Bharata the bronchiolar zone? The Ganga is said to enter into Bharata after dividing 7 times; each division could indicate a level (of branching of the airways). The reference to the seven Merus by Sankaradeva in the Anadi Patana translation seems to mean the poet-anatomists regarded the bronchial (mountainous) region as extending into the seventh level of the bronchial tree. The number 7 may refer to the 7 main axes of the bronchial tree. Morever Bharata is said to consist of nine regions, and 7+9=16 (see above). Therefore, Bharata seems to be the bronchiolar zone. Bharata's last zone, the ninth, is a respiratory zone, however.